While I've decided against doing a formal trip report of my recent vacation in Florida, there are a few things from the trip that are worthy of their own discussion. Over the next couple weeks, I'll be posting a few threads to generate discussion on the topics. This one is a review of Infinity Falls, one of the attractions I got to experience for the first time this trip.
Water rides seem to be one of the most divisive types of theme park attractions. There are some who absolutely love them, some who absolutely loathe them, and many who land somewhere in the middle. For me, I enjoy water rides if they have more going for them than simply drenching riders. A good flume ride is just as much a part of my theme park visit as a dark ride or roller coaster, but I'm generally not a big fan of rapids rides and splash boats that don't have much uniqueness to them. Infinity Falls, the rapids ride SeaWorld Orlando installed a couple years ago, is an exception to that rule.
Ordinarily I'd take this time to describe the attraction in detail, but this time things are a bit different. For Christmas last year, I received an Akaso camera, and as parks in Florida tend to be relatively camera friendly, I brought it along with me on this trip. Therefore, join me below for my ride on Infinity Falls!
A few notes on this...SeaWorld parks permit cameras on attractions as long as they are secured to your body using a strap. For this video (and others filmed during the trip), I utilized a wrist mount for my camera. NEVER bring an unsecured camera on to any attraction, and NEVER violate park policies regarding loose articles on rides. Since this was a water ride, I also used a waterproof case, which has the unfortunate effect of muffling sound. I added subtitles for the random comments I made, but be sure to turn your sound up to hear everything. Lastly, SeaWorld does not require masks on their water attractions as it is one party per vehicle (I had the whole raft to myself), so riding maskless was not breaking any rules.
Overall, Infinity Falls was a great rapids ride with excellent landscaping, plenty of splashing, and a couple tricks thrown in that aren't typical of this type. You do get quite wet, but it's not cheap wetness that comes from being blasted by water cannons. I don't know that I'd ride this every visit, but if it's a warm day and the line is reasonable, I'd absolutely do it again (and would love to experience it with a full raft).
If you enjoyed the video and want to see more, let me know. I filmed a number of rider cam and POV videos on the trip, and would be happy to share them if people are interested (though you do lose something when the rider is wearing a mask).
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I think you've summarized the popularity and appeal of rapids rides pretty well. You either love them or hate them, and that love/hate relationship may change depending on your mood at the time and/or weather conditions. I've typically been meh on rapids rides mostly because I don't think they really add much to the theme park experience. My biggest complaint is that there just isn't much variation between them. Some are definitely better than others, but the motions, features, and overall experience are pretty much the same regardless of where you are. The other aspect of these rides that I don't enjoy is the regularity with which water sloshes over the side of the boat, filling the foot wells and causing your feet to get soaked while the rest of you is high and dry. If you're planning to walk around a theme park for 6+ hours, you usually want to wear a comfortable pair of shoes with thicker, cushioned socks, but if your shoes get soaked on a rapid ride, you can forget the protection and comfort your shoes and socks will provide for the rest of the day. Many rapids rides have footrests that can elevate your feet above the floor of the raft, but that's often not enough to keep your shoes/socks dry from waves of water cresting over the edge of the raft.
That's why I prefer log flumes to raft rides, because logs tend not to fill with water like rafts (unless the drains are not working and you're stuck in the back).